Dial for combination-locks.



I w. T. BENHAM. DIAL FOR COMBINATION LOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1915.

Patented Jail. 4,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOORAFH 60.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

W. T. BENHAM.

DIAL FOR COMBINATION LOCKS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26.19I5.

1,166,883, 1 Patented Jan.4, 1916.

I I I I 2VSHEETS-SHEET2.A

WITNESSES r I 11v VEN TOR.

LA Tvuiflj I flaw, a. X

COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH cc., WASHINGTON. n 64 specification.

; W LLIAM 1r; BENnA'M, ornonwoon; oriIoi 1 man EonicoMBInA'rIon-Loons. I

1 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IXVILLIAMVT. Bn aHAM, a' citizen of the UnitedStates,'resid1ng at Norwood, in the county of 'Hamilton and State ofOhio, have invented new and use ful Improvements in Dials for Combinaftion-Locks, of which the I following a My improvements relate to dials{oncombination locks, such as. are used on safes, cabinets and the like;and maybe employed I I to the sen'seiof sight, if desired.

-with such dials already in use; and any combination look so equippedcan easily be run, in dim light 'or absolute darkness,;byone who knowsthe combination. The addi-" tional cost will be moderate, and thescope.of use for combination looks with their mani- I test advantages, willbegreatly GXlSBl'ld d,-j-

as for example, to doors of garages, storeroom s, file-roo1ns,.etc. V

My lnventlon,

prefer, will have the appearance of an ordi nary combination lock dial,except that at andcanbe varied so as to present great difone point thedial rim willbe extendedlaterally to receive the ends of indicatorlevers and the buttons usedin' operating, same.

-When the two buttons are semi-circular in form and placed together in'acircular opening, they have the appearance. of a screw head In thisform, tor-operating mechanism. is underneath the and meddlesomepersons." "The ber madein a number [of forms,

ference in appearance, soI don'ot limit'myj- "self to-any particularform to carry-my my I show one al venti'on nto use; however,ternatlveform 1n'th1s apphcat on.

My improvements embody :Iundamentally a rotatable dial-havingsuitablegage notches (whichmay' be either on the-fro'ntor the back of. the Idial, or. on the back wall of the dial-casing), an indicatoradapted Ithe zero-notch. at each revolution of the dial inelther dlrectlon; anindicator normally on to contact withthe 1 units gage notches, fbuta-dapted' toi be pressed into contact I therewith; a correspendingindicator normally out .of contact with the, group gage notches (a's'ojftenslof units), but adapted to-be pressed into con;

.5 tact therewiithy and separate: means for i pressing either, the; unts or group gage indicators into position! to I contact with-its Vfygage, at thewillottheoperaton'fl'prefer- 'rromi zero, as I when made;in the forni l1.

the-rest of the indicatating dial an t of contact with dial and takenon,

to-so a eale-anathem the wer I Specification of Letters rateml V fatgnteidg 4, 1916,

"Application filed June 26, 1915; seriainbfse549. i

may slide'his fiageror ,thunibfrom' one to the otheig 'orjmerely'roclr'his finger to one slde or the other,lmaking it practicallyimpossible for any one to watch himfwhile ran, 7

n ne the, m i a an la -1. h 1 1: b1nat1on. r I

a The fun'ctionjofi the improvements being .to enable, the operator toread thegage by the sense of touch or hearing, the 'c'ombina tio'nmaylbe,,made"and used-without resort Y it, again; is visibly 'numberedat hi, I prefer .to' numberthe gage markseach fway provements. 1 I

.70 setforth in LettersPatentiNo'. 1,118,865, issued a e.0ctoberj1a1914, as -.this is the methojdof counting and running any givencombination. used "With my im 1 Y :Elevations.or ,ribs, instead ofdepresa 'sions, maybe used as gage marks.

y ei oni'isillustrated inthe acgofn.

panyin; drawings,"the preferred formbeing shown, 1n Figures 1 to 6,incluslveaand an structure, 1n which all-Qtheispecialimechanism of myinvention eXCept-the buttons" the" operator .pre'sses on,;1s'locatedunder the r0 showing thejpivotedf levers: in' positione to act upon theunderside of .thedial' plate;

Fig. leis a cross section,shown" in elevation,

ofthe dial structure, ncluding the dial plate g a owing h but o and;

alternatlve forminnFigs; T to l0 inclusive. 1 r Fig. l 1s a plan; orffiCQVlGW of the-dial 86 I hidiroin view Fig. 2 is aplan or face .view'of. the underside of the" rotatin'gdial plate removed; Fig. 3.=is a taceView,' corfesponding with Fig.1, of the 6, a detail, is elevation of thez'ero indica-ui 1' tor; 1n position contacting withigthfe under sidefofthe-rotating diaLf ,F ig. 7. 'isa) plan "or face view I of alternati,v'eform of the dial 5 structure,inwh1ch all the special mechanism ofmy;inventionexceptthe buttons the'ioperf' sectiomshown elevatiomiot'theidial struc .tur'e, including-the :dial plate 'andf'ga'ge l te the 'dt a va 219i la ja'tor' -presses on,"i s located un'derfthe rotatingFifihld' from y ew; Fig, 8 1s *a-yc'rossi at I " way from Zero upward, asalready indicated.

The casing of rim A has a projection a with a circular opening throughthe rim, undercut and enlarged below to receive and hold in position thebuttons hereafter described. j

The underside of the dial A has three separate series of gage notchesconcentrically arranged in circles one within the other. The outer oneof these, 00, indicates single units; those in the next circle, indicategroups of tens of units; and the innerv one is a single notch 2,.wh1chindicates zero, or

the starting point in the count; but, because of the placing of theindicator intended to contact with it below the center of the dial, saidnotch z is placed on the same radius extended as the unit indication- 50on the face of the dial.

The zero indicator comprises a small wheel 5 journaled in the fork ofthe lever B which is pivoted to the bottom of the dial casing at 6 Thewheel end of the lever B is held outward so as to constantly contactwith the underside of the dial by the spring 6 and the lever B islocated in'such a position that the wheel Z) contacts with the dial, onthe inner gage circle 2, in which the zero depression 2 is formed. V

The units indicator comprises a small Wheel 0 j ournaled in the forks ofthe curved lever C which is pivoted at c to the dial seat. The wheel endof the lever C is held inward normally out of contact with the undersideof the-dial by the spring 0 The opposite end 0 of the lever C (Figs. 3and 5) is extended outwardly under the projection cf of the dial casingor rim, so as to pass under .and in contact with the button C so thatdownward pressure on said button will shift said lever O, depressing itsend 0 and throwingthe wheel 0 outward against the under surface of thedial-A The lever C 1s p voted to the bottom of the dial-casing in such apositionas to makethe wheel 0 contact with the under surface of the dialon the outer circlein which the unit's notches 00 are cut.

The. tens indicator, with its" wheel d,

curved lever D pivoted at (Z to thebottom of the dial-casing, its spring(Z opposite lever end, (Z and button D are all similar to like .parts onthe units indicator mechanism arranged for the opposite semi-circle ofthe invention.

of the dial; but the lever itself is so shaped and placed as to make theindicator wheel (Z contact with the under surface of the dial on theintermediate circle in which the tens notches 11 are cut.

The buttons J and D are so formed as together to loosely fill theundercut circular opening, in the projection 64 of the rim, and havetheir outer surfaces hollowed so the finger or thumo can be easily slidfrom one to theother or the finger rocked back and forth, first pressinginwardly on one, then on the other as found convenient in making thecount. The spring 0 holds the lever end 0* and the button in theiroutward position and spring (Z operates in like manner on lever endrZand button D Upon rotation of the dial under these conditions, the clickand slight jump of the wheel as it passes over the notches indicateseach one to the ear and touch without the aid of *ight; thus enablingthe operator to run the combination with ease and certainty; while theclick and jum of the Zero indicator always independently indicates whenthe beginning mark is reached or passed. The indicators 5, 0 and (5 maybe made of rawhide or fiber to prevent clicking if the sense of touchonly is to he relied upon. The indicator wheels may be re placed bymetal points if it is desired to make the clicks louder and sharoer.

The mode of operation is si aple and will further illustrate thefunction .l advantages Entire revolutions 111 y be made in the usual wayby using the cen tral knob a, exactitude being indicated. by the slightcheck of movement and the sound produced by the indicator B; but thehandle o may be employed to assist in rotating the dial because itsvertlcal position, which coincideswith the indicator sound and check ofmovement, renders the aid of sight quite unnecessary. l

In the alternative form, the gage notches, :0, y and 2' are not cut inthe undersurface of the dial, but in the dial casing A or a platefastened thereto.

its position in re lation to the rotatable dial is shown in Fig. 8. Theindicators 5, 0 and [cl are fastened to the under surface of the dialinstead of to the dial casing. The Zero indicator is the same in thisform as the other shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive. Units indicator 0(shown asa metal point instead of wheel) is secured to the lever C,which is a spring plate normally fitting close to the under side of thedial, to which it is fastened at 0 In like manner, the tens indicator (Zis se cured to the lever D, a similar spring plate fastened to A} atcfi.The lever C is depressed 'so'as to cause the indicator 0 to contact withthe notches bytilting the button C either' way, and in like manner thelever D is depressedso as to cause the in- I claim as my invention anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States:

1. In a combination lock, a rotatable dial having gage notches arrangedin concentric circles, representing respectively, single units, uniformgroups of units, and the starting point at each revolution of the dialin either direction; an indicator for thestarting point notch,constantly in contact with the circle on which said notch is; anindicator normally out of contact with the units gage notch circle; anindicator normally out of contact with the group gage notch circle; anda separate lever and operating button for each of said two lastmentioned indicators for pressing said indicators into position tocontact with their respective notches.

2. In a combination look, a rotatable dial having gage notches arrangedin concentric circles, representing, respectively, single units, uniformgroups of units, and the starting point at each revolution of the dialin either direction; an indicator for the starting point notch,constantly in contact with the circle on which said notch is; anindicator normally out of contact with the units gage notch circle; anindicator normall y out of contact with the group gage notchcircle, anda separate lever for the units indicator and the group indicator, withan operating button for each of said levers placed in close proximity toeach other, for pressing either the units or group indicators intoposition to contact with .their respective notches at the will of theoperator.

3. In acombination lock, a chambered dial-casing, a rotatable dialconstituting a face plate for the casing chamber, 'a gage having notchesarranged in concentric circles, representing respectively, single units,uniform groups of units, and the starting point at each revolution ofthe dial in either direction; an indicator within the dial chamber forthe starting point notch, constantly capable of contacting with saidnotch; separate indicators Within said dial chamber for the units andgroup notches, respectively, normally out of contact therewith, but eachcapable by manipulation of its button of being brought into contact withthe circle on which its notches are, and a button for manipulating eachof said two last named indicators.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence'of twosubscribing witnesses.

A. L. TILDESLEQY, HENRY B. STRIEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' 7 Washington, I). G. i

